Junto Boys

HBO's: ROME

I'm a sucker for most any period film/TV show. I loved Ben Hur, Sparticus, Gladiator, and most recently HBO's Rome. When you read the actual facts of the Roman Empire, look at the behind the scenes politics, and then see this show, it really exhibits the fact that nothing has changed. So much of current politics and our own society mirror these ancient times. What I respect about the Romans though, is that they didn't give a rats behind about Political Correctness. They "knew" that Roman civilization was the best. They "knew" that being Roman, was superior to all other ways. A good example is in the Bible. When the Apostle Paul was being interrogated by a Roman official for being part of spreading the radical religion of Christianity, Paul stopped the proceedings in it's tracks: "The officers reported this (Pauls captivity) to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed." (Acts 16:38). To be a Roman citizen was a badge of honor and a shield against lawlessness. When the Romans invaded an area they said, "Become Roman or die" (or worse be enslaved). Would we win the war on terror quicker if we took such a hard line? We can't because we're too, "Bless your heart, come here let me give you a billion dollars and rebuild your nation for you." Actually, the Romans did do a lot of nation building. Take Carthage for example. After decades of war, the Romans finally conquered the equally powerful Carthaginian Nation. The ancient site of Carthage was located in what is today Tunisia. As you can see from this map (link), The continent of Africa is at one of the Roman's closest points to Europe (the island of Sicily) Carthage, then, could control trade from the eastern to the western Mediterranean. That's why Rome envied and feared her. When the Romans conquered Carthage, they rebuilt it in the Roman image. The Carthaginians were no more, the survivors were changed to Romans from that day onward. America is an imperialist empire. We just pretend we're not.

In 1984, when I was in 10th grade, our local congressman came to the High School for a "visit." During the question and answer section I asked, "What if President Reagan declared himself emperor?" The congressman blushed, laughed, then went off on some rambling discourse about democracy. I'd love to see an Emperor Bush, but he doesn't have the bearing or heart for it. So for now, I'll have to get my fantasy fulfilled via Rome the TV series. The real question is, 2000 years from now, will they have a series about American civilization?